1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improved trap stands, in particular trap stands which position and secure body grip traps.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical body grip trap grips an animal within a pair of pivotally mounted rectangular frames. Springs yieldably bias the frames from a set position, where the frames are essentially aligned with each other, to a sprung position, where the frames are rotated towards a right angles alignment to close the opening through the aligned frames. A trigger positioned within the aligned frames is disturbed by an animal entering the frames. The frames, driven by the springs, then rotate rapidly towards the sprung orientation before the animal can move to grip the animal between the closing frames.
Since the animal must enter the aligned frames in order to be trapped, the orientation and vertical position of the trap is critical. A stand adapted to grip a body grip trap should provide a desired orientation and an optimal vertical position. Present stands use a pair of legs of a predetermined length for securing the trap in the desired orientation, usually with the aligned frames oriented vertically, with the length of the legs inserted into the surface establishing the trap height.
Often the trap is located near or on the surface of a pond or stream with the stand securing the trap to the pond or stream bottom. Presently stands must have different length legs to position the trap at various heights above the mounting surface, and a different size stand must be used for different size traps.
It would be desirable if existing or modified stands could be adjusted to secure traps at different heights above the supporting surface, and/or if a stand could modified to be adjusted for use with different size traps.